


Freshly-Baked Cookies And Tea Parties

by HookedonCS



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Maybe - Freeform, One Shot, Unrequited Love, mentions of Maya Jones, nanny/single parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 12:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4060384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HookedonCS/pseuds/HookedonCS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr prompt: nanny/single parent AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freshly-Baked Cookies And Tea Parties

It’s late. The sun has been down for hours already. And he is just making it home.

The house is quiet. Not eerily so. There is a whispered hint of the television being played in the den. Other than that…

Killian let whatever pressures of the day that were riding along his shoulders slip away as his feet hit the floor of each room. He is home now. That’s all that mattered.

He sees her shadow before he sees her. Just a moment’s difference.

There is a rag in her hand, and she smiles. It’s one of her sweet smiles. The one that speaks of happiness to see him home. The one that speaks of understanding.  
“I heard you come in,” she says quietly.

He has the nerve to look sheepish. His eyes blink once, then twice, as his fingers dip just so in the hair behind his ear.

“I should have called. I’m sorry, Emma.”

She only shakes her head. “It’s not a problem.” The way she says it…. It’s true. “Maya was the princess that she always is. She had dinner, took her bath, and after reading her a bedtime story, she went straight to sleep.”

“She’s sleep?” Killian asks, his eyes already travelling up towards the second story.

“Yes, she is.”

He looks back at her. And he wonders what he would ever do without her.

“Thank you, Emma.” He is sure that she hears it in his voice, his sincerity. 

She stares at him in the darkened room, the towel twisting in her hands. He sees her mouth open, but it closes quickly. And she turns, her footsteps going back towards where she had come.

“I just have to finish up in the kitchen,” she tells him softly. “And then I’ll be out of your hair.”

She is moving quickly now, and he knows where she is going.

Killian rolls his shoulders and stretches his neck.

“Emma, you don’t have to do anything else.”

“Like I said, no problem,” she calls out to him.

His steps begin to follow hers, heading for the kitchen. As he passes through each room, it is easy to see the hard work that she has put in that day.

It had been a chaotic morning. Maya had insisted on him forgoing preparations of the afternoon’s meeting. Instead, tea parties seemed to take more precedence. And even pretend tea parties deserved to have real cookies. Real cookies were not the ones that were wrapped up in plastic and eaten as anytime treats. No. Real cookies needed to be rolled out from dough, cut out with special cookie cutters, placed neatly on the trays, and then baked in the oven.

So… baking had been done. Unfortunately, time for cleaning up had not been possible before he had to leave for work. Getting out in a clean shirt was the best he was able to do.

The thought puts a smile on his face. The sparkling clean kitchen, though, puts a hitch in his breath.

When he reaches the entrance to the kitchen, Emma is doing a final wipe-down of the island.

“Emma, you are amazing.”

“No.” She looks up at him with a smile. “I’m just a nanny.”

Killian watches as she finishes. He watches as she neatly folds the towel and places it on the rack. He watches as her hands fluff the ends of her blonde hair just before he turns back to her.

She is more than just a nanny though. Killian knows that.

And as she turns her green gaze on him, maybe…

She continues to watch him as she begins to move. Her steps bring her towards him.

“Maya’s asleep, but I’m sure she would love it if you stopped in and said goodnight.” Her voice is soft. There is something more in her eyes. But…

He dismisses that look at something more.

It doesn’t mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything.

Even if she is the best thing that has happened to Maya. Even if he does think of her more often with each passing day.

“I should get out of here now.”

His eyes blink down on hers. And he smiles. Just a tiny smile.

“Not before I say it one more time, Emma.” This time, he lets his hand slide over to scoop up hers, feeling…. No. “I appreciate everything that you do around here. You are too good to me.”

She offers a smile. But there is something more to this smile.

“I… love…” Her smile grows more. “Maya. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do for her.”

Killian lets her hand slip from his. There is something there, something in the way that her skin feels against him. But, again, no…

“See you tomorrow, Emma.” He whispers it because she is already moving, already slipping away from him.

“Of course. Maya already has our whole day planned out. I’m looking forward to it.”

He smiles to himself, because knowing Maya… He can only imagine.

“Killian?”

“Yes?” he asks, turning around to face her again.

The way that she looks at him… It’s odd, because he thinks he’s seen that look in Maya. Maybe it is the mannerisms. Is his daughter picking up nuances of the woman in her life?

He doesn’t hate that… He likes that.

But it changes. She shakes her head. Her eyes leave his again.

“Have a good night, Killian.”

“Aye, you as well, love,” he murmurs. He thinks he should be more careful with letting the endearments slip out.

It is her smile that makes him think that maybe it’s okay.

Her lips turn up in a smile. Her lashes fall to her cheek as she turns again.

“Good night.”

Killian turns around, his own eyes falling to the tiled floor.

He listens to her steps as they move away from him. She is slipping farther and farther away.

He doesn’t strain his ears to hear her movements. He knows she has her belongings gathered up in the living room.

Emma will let her own self out. She will lock up the door behind her. She will be gone.

And Maya was upstairs. Asleep, but upstairs. Emma would be back tomorrow. But for now.

Killian hands come up to yank at the collar of his coat and he begins to move again.

He hasn’t seen Maya since early that afternoon. And even if she was sound asleep, Emma was right, he would love it just as much as his little princess to see her right then.

Emma? Well, she’d be back tomorrow. A new day.

Maybe even the day he wouldn’t be so closed-mouth.

It was a thought. One he wasn’t so sure about.

Well….

Killian began to move. Even from the kitchen, he thought he heard the start of the yellow Bug.

Yes, tomorrow would be a new day.


End file.
